One of the horror genre's "most widely read critics" (Rue Morgue # 68), "an accomplished film journalist" (Comic Buyer's Guide #1535), and the award-winning author of Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002), John Kenneth Muir, presents his blog on film, television and nostalgia, named one of the Top 100 Film Studies Blog on the Net.

Thursday, January 29, 2015

At Flashbak: They Stick Like Magic! A Gallery of Colorform Adventure Sets (1966 – 1980)

"Last
week here on Flashbak, I remembered “Fotonovels” or “Photostories,” and tagged
those publications as one way that kids of previous generations could remember
the experience of their favorite movie or TV program in the pre-VCR age.

Today,
I remember another popular item from the same time and having roughly the same
purpose: the Colorform Adventure Set, or “Cartoon Kit” as it was sometimes
known. In broad terms, Colorforms sets
consist of vinyl-sheet figures, ships, or objects, and a cardboard background
upon which they can be set, and re-set.

Colorforms
were first created in 1951, and in 1957 the company began to license popular
entertainment characters such as Popeye for their sets.

In
the year 2000, the Toy Industry of America named Colorforms one of the best
toys of the 20th century, and in 2011, Time Magazine named them as
one of the 100 best toys “ever.”

Colorforms
often came with brochures or booklets demonstrating for kids “one of the many” scenes they could make
with their new toy. And parents were
informed, likewise that “your child now
joins millions of others in the same age group in a happy growing experience.”

When
I grew up in the seventies, Colorforms proved a key and constant element of
childhood, and today I want to feature pictures from my home collection, and
some of my very favorite sets.

Basically
every sci-fi franchise you could think of in the 1970s and 1980s had Colorforms
sets to accompany them, from Star Trek (1966 – 1969) and Battlestar
Galactica (1978 – 1979) to Planet of the Apes (1968) and Gremlins
(1984). I had as many as I could get my hands on, and I’ve managed to keep
several sets across the decades.

Here
are five examples of the Colorforms adventure sets, circa 1966 – 1980..."

2 comments:

The ones I remember most are the Castle Dracula Fun House and the Mickey Mouse Magic Glow Fun House. That one you had to place a lamp behind and secret pictures would appear. I also had a Hulk/ Spiderman set that I enjoyed.

For more on the history of Colorforms, check here:http://melbirnkrant.com/colorforms/index.html#bookmark1

I had the Batman & Buck Rogers who highlight, as well as many others, including Superman, The Muppet Show, and a cool Spiderman one that you could prop up like an easel (the "board" was a building, with one side the exterior for him to climb and the other the interior where he fought the baddies.--Hugh

About John

award-winning author of 27 books including Horror Films FAQ (2013), Horror Films of the 1990s (2011), Horror Films of the 1980s (2007), TV Year (2007), The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007), Mercy in Her Eyes: The Films of Mira Nair (2006),, Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (2004), The Unseen Force: The Films of Sam Raimi (2004), An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith (2002), The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film & Television (2004), Exploring Space:1999 (1997), An Analytical Guide to TV's Battlestar Galactica (1998), Terror Television (2001), Space:1999 - The Forsaken (2003) and Horror Films of the 1970s (2002).

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